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Johnson County Government exists to provide hundreds of high-quality services to its more than 560,000 residents. Some County initiatives are highly-visible and impact residents' lives on a daily basis, including wastewater, stormwater, and roadway improvements along with construction or renovation of public buildings. Others County services happen behind the scenes, while plenty of what we do is highly popular, like library programs, park and recreation activities and fun events.

Resident News

Minor Home Rehabilitation Program has funds available to assist with home repairs

The Minor Home Rehabilitation Program has funds available to assist with home repairs. Income-qualified homeowners may be eligible to receive minor home rehabilitation assistance for household repairs/modifications of a health, safety or accessibility nature.

Home buyers looking for a residence in Johnson County are finding only a month and a half supply. Homes selling for $350,000 or below have the highest demand which results in higher market values for that price range.

This strong demand means residential property values continue to rise, and most residents’ appraised values are expected to go up again in 2018. During the week of February 26, residents will receive a Notice of Appraised Value.

The Johnson County Appraiser's responsibility is to value property at fair market value — the price it would bring on an open, competitive market. Sales activity is reviewed to arrive at the value.

In August 2017, the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office formed the Residential Reappraisal Advisory Committee, composed of realtors, lenders and fee appraisers, to advise the county of current residential market trends. Last year, 95 percent of residential real estate values increased. The areas with the greatest increase were in De Soto, Fairway, Gardner, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Shawnee and Spring Hill.

Homeowners have until March 28 to file an appeal to provide additional information, ask questions and discuss concerns. For questions, residents may contact the Appraiser’s Office at 913-715-9000.

The county appraiser’s staff makes the appraisal process transparent by publishing data used to determine home values at jocogov.org/appraiser.

Motor Vehicle updates office hours

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, Johnson County Motor Vehicle office hours will change to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding county designated holidays. This change applies to both the Olathe Motor Vehicle Office, located at 782 N. Ridgeview Road, and the Mission Motor Vehicle Office, located at 6000 Lamar Ave.

Customers who have reserved their place in line using our line management system and that are present in our offices by 4 p.m. will be served that day.

The office is working to reduce overtime expenditures for Motor Vehicle staff and balance customer volume throughout the business day.

This change does not apply to the Driver License offices, which are operated by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

Motor Vehicle updates office hours

Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018, Johnson County Motor Vehicle office hours will change to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding county designated holidays. This change applies to both the Olathe Motor Vehicle Office, located at 782 N. Ridgeview Road, and the Mission Motor Vehicle Office, located at 6000 Lamar Ave.

Customers who have reserved their place in line using our line management system and that are present in our offices by 4 p.m. will be served that day.

The office is working to reduce overtime expenditures for Motor Vehicle staff and balance customer volume throughout the business day.

This change does not apply to the Driver License offices, which are operated by the Kansas Department of Revenue.

2017 Property Tax Statements Due by December 20, 2017

The Johnson County Treasury and Financial Management department has begun mailing 202,674 real estate and 19,915 personal property tax statements to Johnson County taxpayers. The first half real estate and personal property taxes are due on or before Wednesday, December 20, 2017, and the second half taxes are due on or before Thursday, May 10, 2018. The real estate tax statement contains a comparison section between this year’s and last year’s tax breakdown. If the taxes are paid by the mortgage company, the statement will say “THIS IS NOT A TAX BILL” at the bottom. For those taxpayers that pay their statements directly, there will be a return payment stub at the bottom of the statement

Taxpayers have several convenient options to pay their taxes:

Online - Through our website, www.jocogov.org, tax payments may be submitted electronically using our eCheck option for only $1 per transaction, or by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) for a 2.4% service fee per transaction.

By Mail – Taxpayers can mail a check along with the payment stub to PO Box 2902, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201.

In Person - Taxpayers can make a payment at our office location, 111 S. Cherry Street, Suite 1500 in Olathe. Forms of payment accepted at our office include cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card (payment by credit/debit card includes an additional 2.4% service fee).

There are many other services on our website that may be helpful this tax season. Taxpayers may view an electronic version of their tax statement and print off tax receipts once their payment has been processed. They may also find important Tax Forms and get many questions answered through our Frequent Questions page.

Sign up at NotifyJoCo.org to receive emergency alerts

Information is critical when severe weather, water outages, public health emergencies or other emergency situations happen. One way you can stay informed about emergency situations unfolding in Johnson County is by creating a profile at NotifyJoCo.org. NotifyJoCo, a public notification system designed to keep our residents and businesses informed of emergencies, is a free public service made possible by a partnership of local governments and public utilities in Johnson County.

NotifyJoCo relies on E911 phone numbers and personalized contact information registered by you or your family. Public officials strongly recommend that you log on to NotifyJoCo.org today to update your information and customize your preferences. The system allows you to designate up to five specific locations within the county that matter most to you; for instance, you might designate your place of employment, your spouse's place of employment, your child's school or day care center, or other relatives' homes. It's important even after initially registering to keep these locations updated, especially if your child starts attending school at a new building. You can also specify how you would like to receive notifications — phone call, email or text message.

Programming your weather radio

As a part of its severe weather awareness activities, Johnson County's Emergency Management Communication's Department is available to assist residents in programming their weather radios. As the strong storms rolled through the county earlier this week, it's a good reminder to take extra precaution this time of year. Weather radios are especially important since the weather sirens are meant for outdoor notification only. Feel free to take your weather radio to the EMC office on the lower level of the county's Administration Building (111 S. Cherry Street, Olathe) during regular business hours. For more information on ways to become better prepared, check out joco72.org.

Latest issue of The Best Times Magazine hits the streets

Look for the new issue of The Best Times, the county’s publication informing and supporting Johnson County’s 60+ adults. This month’s cover story is about preventing falls, the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults. Other articles include topics such as the Veterans Treatment Court, improved access to health and human services and preparing for severe weather season. The Best Times Magazine is a printed publication created by Johnson County Government, mailed six times per year to Johnson County residents who are 60 plus.

In January 2016, Johnson County District Court held the first Veterans Treatment Court in the state of Kansas. It’s mission — to identify veterans in the criminal justice system and, when eligible, to place them into treatment and court supervision as an alternative to incarceration. Today Johnson County Veterans Treatment Court honored its first graduate from the program. District Court Judge Timothy P. McCarthy, who spearheaded the effort to bring VTC to the county, will presided over the graduation ceremony Feb. 15 at the Johnson County Courthouse.

VTC offers two alternatives to jail time: a diversion track through the Johnson County District Attorney’s office and a probation track through Johnson County Court Services. Both programs allow eligible veterans to voluntarily participate in a 12- to 18-month program composed of court appearances, drug and alcohol testing, treatment, recovery support meetings and a mentorship program.

VTC aims to help veterans who may be suffering from traumatic brain injuries, depression, substance abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder because of their military service. Any eligible veteran can apply to the VTC program. To be eligible, you must be a Kansas resident and eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits or a resident of the county (for Mental Health Center services). Veterans charged with low-level felony or misdemeanor offenses such as DUIs, drug-related charges or domestic violence charges will be considered for the program.

In 2008, Judge Robert Russell in Buffalo, New York, began the first docket dedicated to veterans after he saw an increase in the number of veterans appearing on his drug and mental health court dockets. Today, more than 250 treatment courts in 40 states offer services to military veterans. VTC programs in Missouri are available in Jackson and Clay counties and the city of Kansas City.

We want your input!

In case you haven't heard, the Johnson County Library (JCL) in Lenexa — currently known as "Lackman Library" and located at 15345 W 87th St Pkwy — will be closing and reopening at a larger location in the new Lenexa City Center!

The Lackman Library was identified in JCL's 20-year comprehensive master plan as a location in need of expanded capacity. In 2015, the Board of County Commissioners adopted the county's first mill levy increase in a decade (3.3 mills total), of which .75 mills was dedicated to implementation of JCL's comprehensive master plan. The plan includes building a new location in Western Shawnee, relocating the Lackman branch in Lenexa, modernizing other facilitlies and creating a new Operations Center to increase circulation efficiency and helping fund future improvements in southern Johnson County as population increases occur.

Johnson County Library wants to hear input from residents about what features or services you want included in the new library's design. There's a public input session on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Lackman Library so swing by if you can. If you can't make it in person, submit your feedback on JCL's website, jocolibrary.org.

Featured Service

An appraisal is the method established by Kansas statute to determine a property owner’s share of the taxes that support schools, roads, health and human service programs, parks, and police and fire protection. The county appraiser is responsible for listing and valuing property in a uniform and equal manner. The state closely monitors counties for their accuracy in valuing property. Johnson County has consistently been found to be in compliance with the state requirements since 1992 when the state directive was issued.